Encore! Encore!

Job 38:1-11

(Song of the Morning Stars)

Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 3Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? 6What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, 9and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? 10For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. 11I said, ‘Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’”

Psalm Link

Psalm 148:2-3

2Praise him, all his angels!

Praise him, all the armies of heaven!

3Praise him, sun and moon!

Praise him, all you twinkling stars!

You missed that concert. Too bad! But so did the rest of us. It must have been unforgettable.

We’re talking about the concert of the morning stars and the angelic hosts at the time of God’s creation. We don’t know the words they sang. We know only that they shouted for joy. Can you imagine the sound? We don’t know how many angels there are, but Jesus spoke of ten thousand of them. That’s quite a choir.

Angels do much more than sing. They are God’s messengers and our guardians. They worship God and do his will. They get involved in the affairs of nations; they help churches; they punish God’s enemies. All of these angelic activities are mentioned in Scripture (see Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 34:7; 103:20; Revelation 1:1; 2:1; 16:1).

But what are they known for more than anything else? Music.

At the dawn of Creation, angels were singing along with the stars. And when God announced a new creation, the coming of the Christ child, angels were singing again. Angels apparently get excited about new creations.

Jesus mentions another time that angels sing. He puts it this way, “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents” (Luke 15:10). Another new creation!

Have you made the angels start singing?

Angels from the realms of glory,

Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story,

Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Come and worship, come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King.

JAMES MONTGOMERY

Bible Networking

Did David know the answers to the questions God was putting to Job? See Psalm 65.

Notable Quotable

“God created the world for reasons that are sufficient unto himself. It is not necessary that we be told these reasons. As long as we know God loves us, we have a base for hope.”

EDWARD JOHN CARNELL